The Advantages of Losing

VANCOUVER

in the midst of the emotion and the passion of this Olympic competition, we forget there are implications for the NHL, the stretch drive and maybe the playoffs.

And maybe that's why people like it so much. It's a break from the NHL season.

Thankfully, there have been no significant injuries to NHLers so far. But you can bet the NHL teams that own the players eliminated in the qualification round and the quarterfinals won't be shedding any tears today.

The Washington Capitals, for example, will now get Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Semyon Varlamov and Thomas Fleischmann back without those players having to play two more Olympic hockey games. Instead of arriving back in D.C. on Monday and then trying to get ready for next Wednesday's game at Buffalo, the Caps crew will have a few days off and probably rejoin their NHL club by Saturday or Sunday.

That's a significant difference. All of those players undoubtedly would have been happy if their countries had advanced. That's why they're here. But the rest always helps.

By comparison, the Pittsburgh Penguins may get Evgeny Malkin and Sergei Gonchar back sooner, but Sidney Crosby (Canada) and Brooks Orpik (U.S.) will be going to the bitter end.

Vancouver knows the Olympics are done for the Sedins, but Roberto Luongo still has lots of work to do. The San Jose Sharks know that Douglas Murray and Evgeny Nabokov can now return to focussing on the NHL season, but their entire top line of Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau is still playing for Canada, as is defenceman Dan Boyle, while centre Joe Pavelski is going hard for the Americans.

The Chicago Blackhawks won't get Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith back until Monday, while Detroit knows its stars Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg now have a few extra days to come down from the high of the Olympics. Again, all these players would rather be playing.

But there's a price to be paid.

Sticking to the Debate - Much More Interesting

VANCOUVER

People are funny.

Rather than actually arguing a point, a favourite tactic is often to try and discredit the source. Don't take a persuasive point of view. Just try and accuse those who think differently of some kind of bias.

When I write something critical of the Leafs, some suggest I've only written it because I hate the Leafs. If I write something critical about the Ottawa Senators, I'll get emails saying I've only taken that point of view because I love the Leafs.

Sometimes I think I should introduce these people to each other.

So long ago I stopped worrying when people accuse me of some bias or another. It usually just means they have no intelligent argument to make.

Today, I'm dealing with all kinds of people criticizing a column I wrote that was critical of Mike Babcock's handling of the Team Canada goalie situation by writing - as though I somehow wasn't admitting it - that I'm only taking that point of view because I co-wrote a book with Brodeur four years ago.

To that I have two things to say.

One, if you believe I have a conflict, then why would you possibly care about what I think? There's no way I can argue the point, so I have to accept that some people believe that. That's part of being in this business, and its no more bothersome to me than those who say I write critical columns on the Leafs because I hate the Leafs, etc.

Second, I can make an argument that Brodeur should have continued as Canada's goalie. At the same time, I understand that some believe it's Roberto Luongo's turn. In fact, the majority of writers at these Games take that point of view. I don't agree, but I can certainly accept that point of view. And I never, ever mind being in the minority.

And you'll notice I didn't accuse Babcock of any kind of conflict because he coaches Detroit and Brodeur plays for New Jersey, or that he prefers Luongo because he's in the Western Conference.

I simply disagreed with his decision and the way in which he made it.

That's how it should work folks.

So fill your boots if you want to accuse me of conflict. All it means is you have no argument to make.

I do with Brodeur. I would have stuck with him because he has won three Stanley Cups, multiple Vezina Trophies and an Olympic gold medal, plus the fact he was brilliant against the Swiss and totally saved Canada from what would have been an embarrassing defeat by stoning each and every Swiss in the shootout. If he didn't have a strong game against the U.S., well, this is a Hall of Fame goalie who has proven time and time again his ability to bounce back.

Luongo? He didn't play his way into this start. He was handed it.

And you know what? If he backstops Canada to a gold medal Babcock's decision will have been the correct one.

And you'll read it here first. Then I'll probably get emails from Leaf fans accusing me of being a Canuck lover. . . .

A Promising American Beginning

VANCOUVER

Not a bad game with which to kick off the 2010 Winter Olympic men's hockey tournament, and not a bad beginning at all for Team USA.

Looking like a club that had been together for a lot longer than one day of practice and a few days in Chicago last August, the U.S. controlled the game from the start and earned a 3-1 victory on goals by Bobby Ryan, David Backes and Ryan Malone while holding the Swiss to only 15 shots on Ryan Miller.

Given the disastrous eighth place finish by Team USA four years ago in Turin in which the Americans won only one game, it was a promising start for a team cobbled together by Brian Burke.

Gone, interestingly, is the chippy, easily irritated style of U.S. teams from the era that included players like Chris Chelios, Keith Tkachuk and Bill Guerin, among others. Instead, just like the American team that beat Canada in January at the world juniors, the Americans delivered a workmanlike, diligent effort with only two minor penalties.

Maple Leaf winger Phil Kessel, skating on a line for most of the game with centre Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks and Malone, wasn't much of a threat or a factor in his Olympic debut at Canada Hockey House. By the final minutes of the third period, Chris Drury was taking Kessel's place on a few shifts as the Americans sought to protect the lead.

Kessel had no shots in only 11:43 of playing time for Ron Wilson's Americans. It was a chance to see Kessel in a different setting alongside some talented linemates after toiling for much of the season as the lone major scoring threat on the Leafs.

The U.S. looked particularly solid on the back end despite losing Mike Komisarek and Paul Martin to injuries before the Olympics. Their replacements, Tim Gleason and Ryan Whitney, looked solid.

The U.S plays Latvia on Thursday before taking on the host Canadians on Sunday.

Miller seemed unbothered by an IOC ruling that forced him to cover up two sayings on his Olympic helmet. The first read "Miller Time" and the other "Matt Man," a tribute to his late cousin's battle with cancer. For the Swiss game, both were covered up with a large Team USA sticker.

The other two U.S. goalies have also run afoul of Olympic regulations with respect to their masks. Jonathan Quick was told he had to cover his "Support Our Troops" message, while Tim Thomas covered up letters that he said were the initials of his children.

 

The Getzlaf Conundrum

It's not just as easy as figuring out whether Ryan Getzlaf is ready and willing to give it a go.

It's whether it's smart or useful for Team Canada for him to even try.

That's the conundrum that needs to be sorted out over the next few days as the Anaheim centre tries to figure out the extent of his injured ankle and whether it will keep him out of the Vancouver Olympics.

Make no mistake about it, Getzlaf and his wingman Corey Perry are an integral part of Canada's plans. But one of the lessons of Turin was the danger of taking injured or partly injured players.

"I won't be making any rash decisions tonight," said Team Canada executive director Steve Yzerman today. "Heck, in two days, he may be up and feeling great. But it could be a tough call."

Yzerman spoke to Getzlaf today, and the Ducks pivot is supposed to have an MRI on the ankle later today in California.

Interestingly, Yzerman played in the 2002 Olympics despite a knee that was injured going in and got progressively worse over the course of the tournament.

"I remember talking to Wayne (Gretzky) and telling him after I played two games before the Olympics that I felt fine," said Yzerman. "Two games into the tournament I thought, Oh my God, what did I do?"

Team Canada has until late Sunday night to make a decision on Getzlaf. The leading candidates to replace him are likely Philadelphia forward Jeff Carter and Tampa Bay sophomore Steven Stamkos.

Yzerman said with Dan Boyle now back in the San Jose lineup, there are no other Team Canada injury concerns as of today.

Hockey chat with Damien Cox

Damien held a live hockey Q&A today, fielding questions on the world juniors, the Olympics and the Leafs.

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Olympic Week

After months of speculation, Canada's Olympic team will finally start to take shape this week.

It will begin with the naming of Mike Babcock as head coach tomorrow or Wednesday, or at least, the expected naming of Babcock. Some will point to Detroit's Game 7 loss to Pittsburgh as reason enough to question Babcock's viability in this position, or the fact that he's lost two of three Stanley Cup finals as a coach, both in Game 7 situations.

The Olympics, obviously, include a short tournament with one or two big games. So you want a big game guy.

That said, that would be about the only speck on Babcock's otherwise terrific record. There is no obvious better candidate, although you could argue that if life were fair this would be Ken Hitchcock's turn to run Team Canada.

Having Babcock behind the bench sending out the likes of Sidney Crosby and Ryan Getzlaf, of course, will be an intriguing sight given the rivalries with Pittsburgh and Anaheim, respectively.

There will be suggestions, as there always are, that Team Canada executive director Steve Yzerman, a Red Wings executive, is "feathering his own nest" by picking Babcock to coach the team. But the controversy would be much greater if Yzerman didn't pick Babcock, thus preferring the coach of another club to Detroit's own.

The only other meaningful candidate is probably Brent Sutter, soon to sign on as Calgary's new head coach as part of a Flames' organization now thoroughly infested with Sutters from top to bottom.

But given Sutter's lack of NHL success so far, at least in the post-season, he would be an unlikely choice.

So Babcock should be the man this week, followed by a list of 40-plus players next week expected to be invited to the club's orientation camp in August. That is where you're likely to see more surprises that would be expected this week with the naming of a head coach.